Bottom of the Bottle
by idpaintballer
Summary: Rocket has been ridiculed his entire life for his origins and decides to leave it all behind him. With a combination of pills and alcohol he goes to end it all but realizes that life is indeed a precious thing as he gets close to the end as he realizes that he does indeed have a friend that can help. Can Peter save him from himself? Reviews are appreciated!
1. The Attempt

I know it's going to cause problems again but I could give a fuck less. It's the only way to deal with the judgmental things that I hear people say or the things people call me. Words like monster, vermin, rodent, and useless are all burning in my mind; almost as hot as the liquid I'm drinking. The others are out doing a mission and told me to stay back and watch the Milano so I find my friend Groot on the table and take up the least judgmental thing I have ever met in my life, besides Groot that is anyways. I take another swig and shiver as it burns like the dozens before it have. I know, it pisses Gamora off when she finds me drunk like this. "Fuck her, literally. No, wait, that's Peter's job." I say, ending in a laugh at my own joke as I take another swig and I can hear voices coming closer. "Well, I should go." I tell Groot who only nods in his little pot. I'm not completely shitfaced yet but that is my goal by the time dinner time is here. I swear, with everything that has been done to me on Half World they must have also implanted either another liver or one from a different species in me because I can handle my alcohol too well for someone of my size. I hear voices coming closer and decide to run to my room and hide the half empty bottle. I'll open another one for show so there will be more than enough in there.

On my way back, I duck into the bathroom and flush the toilet, making people think that I was in there as I walk back into the main hallway. "Any action here?" Peter asks. I laugh on the inside. If only he knew I spent the day getting pissed without him he would not be laughing. I shake my head no and get the step stool out of the gap between the fridge and the wall. I'm fully intent on making something while I can still keep food down. "I don't think so, it's only a few hours till dinner and I don't want you skipping another meal today." Gamora says as she closes the ladder and puts it back. "She's right." I hear Drax say as he waters Groot. I'm thankful that they all help with him but still, it would be nice to get a snack around here once in a while. "Fine. I'm going to go take a nap." I say as I walk down the hallway. "Sure, whatever you say." Peter says as he opens a cabinet door and looks at where the booze is stored. I know he can see the bottle missing so I don't bother with getting the second like I was planning.

I get to my room and decide to pass out on the bed. My stomach is burning and my eyes aren't feeling any different. "Oh Rocket, you've really got a problem." I say to myself as I crawl up on the bed and lay down. I roll over onto my back and look up at the metal ceiling above me and then turn my head to the side and see Peters bed. "I really hope he doesn't come in wanting t' take a nap." I say, the alcohol starting to hit hard. Within a few minutes I feel it really taking over and I fall asleep.

"Ugh, my flarking head." I moan as I wake up. My eyes are still closed but my nose is picking up that I'm not alone. "Perfect. Either it's in the middle of the night or he's in for a nap." I say to myself as I struggle to open my eyes. Sure enough, it's not that late and he's probably down for a post mission nap. I sit up and struggle to walk into the kitchen where I find Gamora and Drax sitting there with Groot dancing in his pot. "Look who decided to roll out of bed." Gamora says as she sees me walk into the room. "We know about the bottle of Xandarian vodka, you really need to stop." she says only to have Groot nod his head in agreement. "If I wanted to be nagged at I would have drank it in front of you." I say in a nasty tone. "You really need to take care of yourself." Drax says. "You know what, I can't believe that I'm getting it from both of you. I'm going back to my room." I about scream and turn around to find Peter behind me. "You owe me a bottle Rocket." he says. I do nothing but walk around him and go back to the room.

"Those flarking assholes." I say as I lock the door so no one else can get in. "Second thoughts, maybe locking is a bad idea." I say, unlocking the door, not wanting to deal with Peters bitching if he wanted to come in. I open my bedside drawer and pull out a small bottle. "Well, at least these will take care of the headache." I say as I pop 3 pills into my hand and toss them into my mouth, swallowing them dry. "Ugh, I'm going to just skip dinner. I should have kept drinking." I think before turning back to my bed and getting undressed, this time intent on going under the covers. "I don't think so rodent. You're getting up in an hour for dinner." Gamora says as she walks by and looks in the door. I sigh and nod my head. "Bite me bitch." I say and with that the door is closed in her face. I can't help but laugh.

I find the bottle I was working on and go back to work. I know that I had just taken painkillers but don't really care. I'm beyond caring at this point. Sure enough, it burns as it did before and I can feel it starting to kick in. "Rodent, dinner is ready." I hear from the other side of the door. I've had enough and can't take any more. "Is it really worth it?" I ask myself as I look around me. The result of an experiment, looked down on by what seems like everyone around me. After a few more drinks I run into what I was not wanting to run into; the bottom. "Great. I'll have to wait till tonight for more." I say under my breath and get under the blankets. It's nice and warm. I smile and roll over so I'm facing away from the room and go to sleep.

I roll over to the smell of whatever they cooked in dinner. "Smells good." I say as I get dressed in a simple pair of shorts and a shirt before walking out into the hallway. "Look who finally woke up." I hear Peter say as he walks by me, scratching behind my ear quickly before smiling down at me. Among the ones on the Milano here with me he seems to be the only one who shows even the smallest amount of respect towards me and it actually has made me develop feelings for him, not romantic feelings but feelings of almost calling him a friend. "Yeah, yeah, I know." I say as I take a seat at the table, faking that I'm happy to be here. As much as I know that I at least have 2 here that consider me an equal I still can't stand the pain the other two cause. "Good, the vermin is here." Drax says.

"Go frag yourself." I about spit at him as he looks at me. "Now was that necessary?" Gamora asks as she sits a bowl down on the table. "I guess so." I say to her as I serve myself. I only see her shake her head. "Just wait, after tonight, I don't know how, I'm going to end it for you." I think to myself. "Rocket, wanna get wasted together tonight while I'm on watch?" Peter asks. "Nah. I think I'm going to give the liver a break and actually sleep." I say, putting a bite in my mouth. If anything I'm going to miss it'll be when Gamora and Drax cook together. There is just something about the food they both make. Peter can't cook worth a crap and I'm too short to safely cook without burning the hair on my face. I laugh about the last time I cooked and we had to find a planet to let the smell of burning hair our and air the Milano out. It's one of the many memories that I'm sure will replay later tonight. Now that I'm dedicated to the idea, I need to come up with a plan. "We just restocked on medications so I'm sure we have narcotics in the med bay." I think, knowing that narcotics when mixed with enough alcohol will lead to one hell of a production of a death for the others to have to live through.

It's nightfall and Gamora and Drax have gone to bed. Groot is sleeping in his pot in my room and I'm on the bridge just chatting with Peter. We do this some nights. Night watch is boring and either Peter or myself take it, sometimes we'll do it together and get wasted; much to the displeasure of Gamora. Drax just doesn't understand drinking till you're falling down the ladder to the main deck. "Well I'm heading to bed. If you need anything just com me and I'll be up here." I say as I turn around and go down the ladder. First stop is the med bay. I look over the bottles and find the one I'm looking for. "These will do nicely." I say as I put a 60 count bottle of hydrocodone under my arm and make my way back to my room. I had already faked a bathroom trip and got a couple bottles of vodka in there that were from my stash.

I first start with the vodka, knowing that the other one will knock me out once I start taking it. After about half the bottle I start on the pain killers, taking them a handful at a time. Thirty minutes pass, nothing happens so I take more pain killers and more vodka, before long I can feel it hitting and it hurts. I'm starting to change my mind and decide to go up and get help. "Oh fuck, what have I done?" I ask as I stagger down the hallway towards the main room. I'm starting to feel tired and fall to the floor in front of the table. "Peter." I weakly say before I feel my stomach twist. I know the feeling all too well and am not surprised at what happens. Up comes a mixture of pills, vodka, and stomach acid and something red. Red. The color scares me because I know I haven't eaten anything red at all that day. "Peter." I try screaming but am silenced by a cramp that is soon followed by me throwing up more of the red stuff and it hits me what it is; it's blood.

My body is becoming weak as I feel myself crawling slowly towards the ladder, or at least I thought I was crawling. I was really just crawling in place, unable to move. "Fuck." I say as my limbs go out from under me. "Anyone, help." I say in a tired tone as I can see my world black out. "Rocket, you say my name?" I hear Peter say from above me in the cockpit. I try to put an arm out and am met with resistance. "Great, I really am going to die." I think to myself as I lay there, my heart pounding on the floor, surely loud enough for everyone to hear. "Shit Rocket, what happened?" I hear just as things fade away. The last feeling I feel is someone picking me up and the last words I hear were someone screaming for Gamora to meet them in the med bay. Have I really done it? I don't know. It feels like it but at the same time I know if it had really happened already I wouldn't be feeling anything.


	2. Recovery

I can tell that I'm still alive. The smells have gone from the ship to one that smelled like blood to another that now smells sterile and clean. I'm guessing it's a hospital. My throat has a tight feeling in it like there is something in there stretching things out and I can feel that even when I try to not breath something forces me to. I can hear distant beeping sounds and when I try to move all I can do is twitch a muscle. "Your friend will be fine. We have been monitoring his brainwaves and they are picking up so he should be waking up soon." I hear a voice say. I recognize the voice but can't put a name to it. It's female and sounds official. "I'm just hoping it's soon or the other two will leave." I hear another voice say. This one more casual and male. "I'm going to go get something to eat, Rocket. Please, wake up." I hear the male voice say. I have to think to myself who this 'Rocket' is then I remember that's me.

I'm still puzzled by the voices I'm hearing around me and why I can't move anything. I'm still irritated by the thing in my throat and still pissed about having no ability to do anything. I want nothing more but to go back to the ship and open my eyes and find myself face down in a puddle of vomit like I've done before. I want nothing more than to do that and look up to find Gamora about to start bitching at me for throwing up like that. I want nothing more than to go back to my life. Something or someone saved me. "Okay, I'll have to think more about this later. I'm just too tired." I think to myself as I slowly drift off to sleep.

I wake up to feel someone rubbing my shoulder near the implants. Somehow I've been rolled onto my side in the bed and this time can feel tugging on my chest and top of my hands. I know they are probably EKG leads and IVs. This is the closest I've come to death and if this is what it means to die I don't want to do it again. I would give anything to go back in time and tell myself not to do this. I can feel that I have tubes coming out of just about every part of my body, including places I never knew they could put tubes. I feel one in my nose, one in my penis as well as one in my rectum along with the one I first noticed in my mouth. I must be at a hospital. "We'll be arriving at Xandar soon where he'll be transferred to a hospital. You need to undock your ship now." I hear another voice say. "So, a medical transport ship." I think to myself, thinking of the implications of this. "Rocket. I'll see you in the hospital." I hear the male voice say before hearing the sound of a door closing.

It feels like it's been hours later and I hear the sound of a door again. I know I've been moved from one bed to another and can feel that the room I'm in is warmer. "I'm here. The other two are also waiting. Please, just wake up." I hear the voice say again. I feel stronger and can feel that I have some tubes missing from the more intimate places. I internally smile at this but at the same time frown at it. I know if I did anything it would be a mess to clean up so I try not to think about that. "Oh what the hell." I think to myself, letting myself smile a little as I fall back asleep. "I saw that. Glad to see some movement." the male voice says.

I come back to and realize that things are darker which means the lights have been turned off. "I feel stronger, I wonder if I can do it." I think to myself as I force my eyes to open. Sure enough, they are met with blinding lights and pain as I push harder and harder. I can hear an alarm going off and realize that it is not a heart monitor but rather a brain wave monitor. I hear footsteps rush in and they shine a bright light in my eyes. I try to scream at them but it only comes out as a choking sound because of the tube. "We need you in room 1256, seems the patient is coming to." I hear a female voice say into what must be a radio. "Well, let's see what the EEG says." I hear another voice say as I can hear footsteps walk into the room. At this time I am looking straight up at the ceiling and can see lines in my vision as well as 2 columns next to me with screens on them. "So it seems. Welcome back, Rocket." I hear the male voice say. "Give him 2mg of lorazapam and we'll see how he's doing later in the morning." the doctor says as he walks out of the room. "Here, this will help you sleep the rest of the night. We'll be sure that Peter knows you woke up when he comes here tomorrow." she says as I feel a strange feeling go up my left arm. I move my head and see that I have IVs in both arms. I start to feel heavy and drift back to sleep.

My mind snaps back to and it looks brighter through my eye lids. I move my eyes and am met with a squeeze on my shoulder. "He must be here." I think to myself as I slowly open an eyelid and am met by the most blinding thing I've ever seen, then I was met by the most crushing thing I've ever experienced. "So glad you're back. I thought when they told me that you were coming to that it was another false alarm." I hear Peter say as he pulls me into what has to be the tightest hug I've ever had, hell, it was among the few hugs I've ever had. I try to reply but can't talk because of the tube in my throat. "They'll be removing that in an hour or so, be patient." he says as I try to grasp it myself and pull it out. "Hang on there, it won't be much longer." I hear a voice say. I turn my head and watch someone in a green coat push a cart into the room. "Could you step out please?" he asks. I watch as not only Peter but also Gamora and Drax walk out of the room. I wasn't surprised by the first one being there but the other two. I was shocked by that.

"Okay. I'm going to give you a sedative that will make you sleep so we can get this intubation tube out now that you've woke up and you're able to breathe on your own. It won't last long and then we'll reverse the sedative once done." the man in the green says as he hooks up a syringe of blue colored fluid to my IV. As he starts pushing it in I feel myself fall asleep. I can still hear what's going on around me and feel something long passing my lips. Before long I start coughing and can feel a warm feeling in the same IV as the blue fluid went into. "There. It's out. You need to take it easy for now when it comes to talking. I'll let the others in once I'm done putting things away." he says as he moves the thick breathing tubes out of my view.

For the first time since the ship I am able to freely move my head so I sit up a little and look around. The room is small and there is a lot of equipment built into the walls of the room. The thing that interests me the most is the pillar on each side of me. There are oxygen ports and suction ports on both of them as well as the monitor and ports for the ventilator that I was hooked up to. "You are going to need this for the time being. Your oxygen saturations are not where they need to be for you to only be on room air. Don't worry, you'll be able to talk." the guy in the green coat says as he puts a mask over my mouth. I only nod my head as I hear the others walk in.

By this time they have the back of my bed up so I'm sitting up and can see that Gamora is looking at me with tears in her eyes. Drax is looking the same way and Peter is wiping his eyes. "We all thought you were going to die. What the hell possessed you to do that?" Gamora asks. Peter looks at her and pipes in for me. "Well, maybe a little respect among everyone would be a good place to start as well as not using the words rodent, vermin, or monster." he says in a tone that is half angry half hurt. She only looks at the ground and Drax is the first to speak up. "I, for one, am sorry for what I have called you." he says as he scratches behind my right ear. I can't help but lean into it. Next, Gamora speaks up. "Why didn't you tell any of us about your feelings? We would have stopped if only we knew." she asks. I try to speak up but can't. All I can do is point at my throat as if to say I can't speak yet. "Oh, I understand." she says as she sits down next to my bed.

A couple glasses of water later and I feel like I can talk again. "I would have told you guys but I didn't want you to think any less of me so I drank it away the best I could." I say in a raspy voice. The other three just nod their head. "I'm still sorry for what I've called you in the past and I know it won't be happening again." Gamora says before standing up and walking out of the room. I watch her go out the door and hear a noticeable sob come out of the hallway. "Rocket. You've been a companion like none other I've worked with. I am sorry." Drax says as he too stands up and follows Gamora. "Rocket. I'm glad to see that you're back with us. I was really worried when I found you and don't know what we would do without you. No one else knows the ship and weapons like you do, not even me." Peter says before pulling me into another hug, making it 5 times that I've been hugged in my life; then came a first. He leaned in and placed a kiss on my forehead. "I know I would have lost more than just a companion and friend." he says before walking towards the door. "We're going to go get something for lunch." he says before vanishing into the hallway.

As I sit here thinking of the implications of the kiss someone knocks on the door. "Dinner for you Rocket." I hear someone say. I look up as someone walks into the room with a tray with cups on it. I can't help but sigh. "Let me guess, liquids only." I say. "They just removed your breathing tube so they want to take it easy on your throat for today. You'll be back on solids tomorrow." she says with a smile as she moves a table over. I can smell the different things on the tray and my mouth is about watering. It smells like beef broth, apple juice, lime Jell-O, and green tea. Someone told them my favorite things and I can't help but think that Peter is responsible for that. "Thank you." I say as I pull the lid off the first item that turns out to be the Jell-O. I pick up a spoon and take the first bite. The taste overtakes everything else that is in my mind and I can't help but dig in faster than I was thinking I was. Before long, I've finished that item off. I open the beef broth and take a sip, instantly burning myself. "Ouch, shit." I say as I pull the cup back. I look up and see Peter walk in. "Oh, they already brought your dinner. I tried to sneak something in earlier while you were sleeping but they took it away." he says. I can't help but laugh. "Where's everyone else?" I ask. "Well, Gamora is talking to Nova Prime and Drax is taking care of Groot." he says. I sit my head back and smile. I bring the broth up to my mouth and it's cool enough to drink without burning myself. We talk while I take drinks of what I was served and before long I can see the suns starting to set outside.

The evening continues on and there is an announcement that visitor hours are over. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Peter says as he gets up and walks out the room. "Since you did so well with dinner we're going to go on ahead and remove the IVs so this may hurt a little." a nurse says as she walks in with a basin. She sits down next to me and takes the tape off my left hand first. Sure enough, it pulls some of the fur out and it hurts like hell. Before long, she's applying a pressure dressing and moving to the other hand. Not even 20 minutes later she's walking out of the room and the tubes are disconnected, leaving me the freedom to move around. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed only to hear an alarm go off. "Damnit." I say under my breath as an orderly walks in. "You can't get out of bed until you've been cleared by therapy. That'll probably happen tomorrow morning." he says. "Fine." I say as I swing my legs back on the bed, silencing the alarm. "While I'm in here is there anything else you need?" he says. I get an idea and decide to go with it. "Yeah, I have to go pee. Do you think I could use the actual bathroom?" I say, smiling in my mind. "I can help you with that." he says as he turns the alarm off. I watch closely, learning where the controls are for it later tonight. I plan on going for a little walk in my room.

He walks me into the bathroom and it feels awesome to be back on my own legs. I hate the gown that I'm forced to wear but at least I'm away from the tubes now. Once done, I go back to my bed and lay down. The little 30 foot walk wore me out like I ran a mile. "Well, thanks for the help." I say. I watch as the orderly walks out of the room and roll over. Before long I close my eyes and can feel myself falling asleep. In my dreams I have memories of the night that led to me being in here and nights with Peter doing watch, sitting in the cockpit watching little flicks of stars go by. I know those memories are the good ones and I know that I'll be back at it soon but for now I have to focus on recovering from what I did with myself and deal with whatever repercussions there will be from the Nova Corps for a suicide attempt, which is considered attempted murder. I know in the back of my mind this probably isn't going to end well.


	3. Charges

I roll over and look at the clock on the wall. "So, 3:00." I say as I as I start to move towards the bottom of the bed. I hear a warning chirp out of the alarm and silence it as I jump over the foot of the bed. I look around as I am met by the freedom that I haven't had in a while. "Now, let's see what is in here." I say as I open the closet door. I look in and find one of my jump suits hanging on a hanger as well as the boots I was wearing when I tried what I did. They still have some of the vomit on them and that really makes me want to throw up again. I know it's been over a week since I tried to kill myself. I think back to that night and am suddenly shocked back into reality. "How did you get out of bed?" an orderly asks me from the hallway. I smile shyly at them and hang my head. "Come on, back in bed before you fall." they say. I can only nod as I get back in bed. "Now don't make us tie you in or put another alarm on the bed. Therapy will be in to see you in the morning." they say as they turn to walk out of the door. "Damnit. Why did I have to explore so far and so close to the hallway." I curse to myself and roll over again, facing the window. I'm looking out the window at the lights and various ships as they go by. "Well, I guess I should go back to sleep." I say as I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep. I am met by a wavy feeling as I feel myself drift off to sleep again. This time there are no dreams or anything. Only a deep sleep.

I wake up to find Peter sitting at my bedside and notice something odd. Nova Prime is here as is Drax and they have Groot sitting on a table. I guess he wanted to see me. "We have a little problem that needs to be addressed before you can be discharged. After your little excursion last night as well as the strength tests that you have done they are going to be discharging you soon." Nova Prime says, then her tone changed to another of legal authority. "Because your suicide attempt happened in the Nova Empire, we are forced to follow the laws that say that a suicide attempt is to be treated the same as attempted murder." she says. I feel my mouth go dry and actually feel myself shaking. "When you are discharged you will be transferred to a holding facility for screening and trial. After trial if you are found guilty you will be transferred to the Kyln and I have to warn you, the evidence against you is pretty damning." she finishes before walking out of the room.

"Gamora has been talking to different lawyers and psychologists for the past few days." Peter says, being the first one to speak up. "I can't go back there. Not without Groot. I wouldn't last a day." I say about crying. Damnit, I didn't notice that I was doing that until it was too late. "Hang in there. I'm sure we'll find someone soon. Therapy is going to be here soon so we're going to go get breakfast." Peter says as he and Drax walk out of the room, taking Groot with them. I lay back down on the bed and try to regain myself. I look up as someone from therapy walks in. We go for a walk in the hallway and of course I pass that part. They do some leg tests and make sure that I am stable enough before returning back to my room. When we get back to my room I'm met with 2 corpsmen. "Subject 89P13, we are here to serve you with a summons and orders of confinement. From this point you are to not leave your room and will be under observation." one of them says. I hang my head and sigh. I can't believe this is actually happening. "What about visitors?" I ask. The corpsman looks down at me and nods. "You will be allowed to have visitors. Now we are done here." he says, handing me the papers before the two of them walk out of the room.

As I sit there reading through the papers I can't believe that this is actually happening. I'm in the hospital under a legal confinement awaiting charges for attempted murder when the one that I tried to murder was myself. How could this be legal? How could this even be right? "Fucking fascists." I sigh as Peter walks into the room. "What was that?" he asks, taking his usual seat before seeing the papers. "When did they drop those off?" he asked. "About an hour ago." I say, looking down at the blanket. He grabs them and reads them, slowly his eyes get wider before he smiles. "Well, at least they are considering mental defect as an option so if you can prove that because of your past you had a relapse that could save your ass." he says. I look up at him with a tear in my eye. "Besides, Gamora already got a copy from Nova Prime a while ago and she found a lawyer and psychologist that are going to stand for you during trial. They are both saying that you have a strong case when it comes to mental defect based off of what was done to you at Half World." Peter says as he walks closer to me. That's when I notice that he is wearing his headphones around his neck. I can hear the song 'Hooked on a Feeling' playing as he gets closer. I get a smile to my face. "Just think how it'll look with the attempted murder with my other charges." I say as I raise my head up. I had no clue how close Peter was and for a few seconds our lips meet. "Peter, we have someone we want you to" Gamora says as she walks in the door. "Shit." is the first thing I can think. I'm doing my best to ignore the feelings that are going through me. Peter has obviously caught on to what happened and pulled away with a shocked look. "Listen. I'm so sorry." he starts. "Don't worry about it." I say just loud enough for him to hear it. "Did we interrupt something?" Gamora asks. "No. You didn't." he says before looking back at the person in the door. "Great. You chose him?" I say. "You want me to represent him?" the other person says.

Gamora looks between me and the other person with a puzzled look. "He defended me in a trafficking trial It didn't go that well and I kinda refused to pay him for a year." I say. "Since it's him I want half of it up front." the lawyer says. "Fine." Gamora says looking at me. I only shrug my shoulders as a corpsman walks by in the hallway. "From what I've heard you will be discharged in a few days then the trial will start next week." Peter says, looking at me in the eye. I can't really believe that this is happening. it's not like I tried to kill anyone other than myself and yet I'm being treated like a criminal. I guess I should be use to it since that is just how my life is. It hasn't even been a year since I broke out of the Kyln last time and it's looking like I'll be going back but I know I'll be in solitary high security since they already know I can break out if I wanted to.

"Ugh! Fuck me!" I grit out in frustration and throw myself back in the bed. "It's getting close to time for lunch. I'll stay here while the others go eat." Peter says. I can only smile. I have so many questions for him about our mistaken kiss earlier. "Do you remember what happened earlier today?" I ask, keeping my face as hidden as possible not to give away where I'm going with the question. "If you're talking about when we accidentally kissed don't worry about it. Besides, if it was Gamora it would be different, only because she would have probably killed me." Peter says. "You're lying." I say in a flat tone. Peter looks like I've cornered him before he tries to defend himself he continues. "I know about you and Drax outside of Knowhere. It's already common knowledge that you don't care about who or what it is." I say with a smile. He can only look down at the floor. I simply crawl closer to him on the bed with a smile on my face and look him in the eye. "You'd like it deep, wouldn't you, humie?" I ask in a rough tone and he only nods his head in shock.

At this point I can't help but about die laughing. "That was the most star struck blank expression admission I've seen in my life, Quill. Thank you. I needed that." I laugh. He looks up at me with a frown on his face before I see the first tear slide. "Damnit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you." I say. He only shakes his head before looking me in the eyes. "You only confirmed what I've been hoping. That you're okay with people like me." he says. It all clicks in my mind and before I can do anything else my mouth opens with an admission. "I'd say we're more alike than you think." is all I have to say before he nods his head in understanding. "So. What would you think about us just once, to see where things go?" Peter asks me. I think it over for a while before replying. "I'll have to think about it. As much as I consider you a close friend I'm not sure how I would be able to accept rejection if it came to that." I say, ending the end with a sigh knowing that's how most relationships of mine end. They always seem to end with us splitting and never talking again. Peter can only nod his head at this. "I know just where you're coming from. I've been across the galaxy and have yet to find one that I mesh with at all. I can say that most if not all of my one night stands were in hopes of something more but that never happened." he says. "Well, looks like lunch is here." I say as someone walks in with two trays on a cart. "So, you ordered for in here?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. "Yeah, figured we needed to have that talk anyways and I'm glad we had it away from everyone else. I could only imagine how the others would think of us." Peter says with a smile. "Well considering how they thought of me to begin with I could only imagine. As for you, who knows." I say.

The day continued on until Gamora and Drax left the room and I noticed that Peter was asleep next to my bed with his head resting on the side of the head of my bed. I couldn't help but laugh a little, waking him up in the process. "Where is everyone else?" He asked while stretching. "Visiting hours are over so they left." I say as I get comfortable and lower the head of my bed a little, knowing that after today I was going to need to sleep. "I'm going to see if I can stay here with you, if you want to. I know you're going to at least have one flash back to when you were in the Kyln the first time." he says before walking out into the hallway. A few minutes later he walks in with a smile. "They said I could stay this one time." is all he says before sitting on the side of the bed. "Care if I join you?" he says. "I don't think we can both fit but we can try." I say. "Well scoot over and let's see." he says. I only nod my head and scoot over. Sure enough the bed is just big enough for the two of us. I roll over on my side and that makes even more space. I close my eyes and focus on the scent of who is laying next to me as well as their breathing and slowly feel myself fall to sleep in a matter of minutes, a first for me. As I feel myself drifting off I can feel him pulling me closer and this helps.

I awake to something shaking me on the shoulder. At first I panic, not remembering who was in bed next to me or where I was. Once everything started clicking into place I calm down from my nightmare. "You okay?" he asks. I don't have to let my eyes adjust for long before I can see the look of worry on his face. "Yeah, just a nightmare of what could happen in the future." I say, laying back down. He only nods his head before speaking. "I know where you're coming from. The time I went to the Kyln with you was my first time and it's not something I could imagine going back to. If you do go back, how many times will that make it?" he asks. I exhale and count in my head. "3 times total. The first time I was raped, the second was when I went there with you and we broke out. That's why Groot and I did the display we did was to turn anyone off of that idea if they ever had it." I say, trying not to think about what has happened in the past. All I can see is Peter nod his head before looking down at me. "We should get back to sleep. I have to be up in a couple hours so the others don't catch us sharing a bed." he says, ending with a laugh. I can't help but laugh too as he leans down and gives me another kiss on the forehead. I lay down with him behind me and before I know it I'm pulled closer with his chin resting on the top of my head and Peter drapes an arm over me. It's not crushing but the pressure does make me feel accepted and I'm asleep again in a matter of minutes.


	4. Seizures and Set Backs

"Rocket?" I hear from behind me. I keep my eyes closed trying to ignore him knowing that it isn't time to get up yet. "Rocket, I know you're awake." I hear from behind me again. I figure that the game is up and decide to acknowledge his existence. "Yes Pete, I'm up. What do you want?" I say, sleep evident in my voice. "When they modified you, exactly how far did they go?" Peter asks. I tug at the fur under my eyes because I had a feeling this question would be asked eventually. "Yes, even _that_ was modified by them. They had a sick agenda and wanted to turn me into some kind of multi-purpose toy." I say, shuddering at what that meant with the modifications that they had done to me. I feel the bed start to move and see him sitting up on the side. "Well, time to get the fur off of my shirt and wait for the others." he says, stretching, revealing a little of his lower stomach area. I can't help but notice a little patch of blond hair and he notices me looking. "I saw that. Yes, humans have hair on our body too." he says walking over to the window. "Have you been with anyone before?" he asks from by the window. This hits right in the wrong spot because of how I have been rejected. "No. Groot was the first one to accept me for me. No one has wanted to go that far with the results of an experiment." I say. "I see." is all he says as he turns around and walks over to me. "How about we see what others have been missing." he says before looking at the clock. "We still have some time before they get here." is all he says before closing the gap between us.

I feel our lips meet and am met with a warm feeling radiating through my body. Not sure what to do I reach up and pull on his hair a little. The kiss only lasts for a few seconds before he pulls back and I can hardly breathe. "Not bad for a first timer." he says with a smile. I only smile back at him before shaking my head. "I only said I've never had sex, not that they hadn't experimented or taught me how to do that." I say. I look up at the clock and see that it is getting closer to 8AM. "Quill, could you do something for me today? Could you go to the Milano and get me a pair of shorts so I have something to wear under this damn gown?" I say. "You mean you've been completely nude this whole time? Why not see what you have." Peter replied before reaching over the bed and exposing my lower areas. My face is burning. I can't believe this. "Not bad, especially for someone your size. They did a good job too." he says before lowering the gown. "Pervert." is all I can say before the others walk in the door.

They pass Peter as he's on his way to get me something to wear other than the gowns that they are providing here. "Had enough of you for today already?" Gamora asks watching him walk out the door. "No, he's getting me some shorts to wear under these gowns." I say with a smile, knowing that this may be the last time in a while that I wear my own clothing. I sit back in my bed and relax knowing for now I'm safe in my room but with how I'm improving I know I'll be discharged soon and that will mean my jail time will begin. I look up at the ceiling and think about what to do when the time does come. "I feel like I'm going to take a nap for a little. You guys are welcome to stay or go, whatever you choose." I say as I roll over and close my eyes. "Are you really going to sleep while we are here?" I hear Drax ask. "No, I just don't want any more weight on the implants. They're hurting like hell today." I say, not looking over my shoulder. I feel someone rest their hand on my shoulder. "Why not face us then?" Gamora asks, standing next to me. "I don't know." I say as I roll over and face the other two. To be honest there is a strange feeling I'm getting about the feelings that I was getting for Peter when we first kissed then they came back this morning. It's all confusing at this point and I just want to sleep them off. I know my body is still recovering and it just makes me so tired, then again the medications I keep getting aren't helping one bit. The nurse says they are mood stabilizers as well as others to help my kidneys and liver recover as best as they can from what I did. I know I probably won't be continuing them once we are on the ship because I don't feel like crossing the galaxy every 3 months to get more.

I feel something in my stomach bubble and look at Gamora with a sick look. "You're not going to want to be here in a few. This hospital food is not agreeing with my tract at all." I say as I shift, releasing some of the pressure. I can't help but laugh at their look from the sound and then their reaction to the odor. "Little one, must you soil yourself on the bed?" Drax asks as he gets up and walks into the hall. I can't help but laugh, I've never chased someone out of a room before. Sure, I've made someone use their shirt as a shield but never made someone leave. I see Peter walk up to the door with a bag and a grin. It looks like he changed his cloths and is wearing his leather pants with a black shirt. He takes one step in, gets a sick look, then takes two steps back. "Wow, what died?" he asks, using his shirt as a shield before coming into the room. "Rocket here deemed it was necessary to display how bad the food is." Gamora says through her shirt. That's all it takes and I'm laughing even harder. "None of those on the Milano. It's camped enough without trying to find places for shelter from something that burns the nose like that." Peter says tossing the bag towards me. "I wasn't sure what pair you wanted so I grabbed some with an elastic waist." he says with a smile. "I don't care. Anything is better than cold air hitting the lower areas." I say with a smile, pulling the shorts up; standing on the bed.

"Careful up there." I hear from the hallway. I look up to see a nurse standing at the door. Sure, they've been treating me pretty good while I've been here but I know that soon I'll be being transferred to the holding facility for trial. I'm looking forward to being out of here but not looking forward to being in the Xandar holding facility. It's a mixed population so I know that there will most likely be at least one fight while I'm there and that'll probably just add to my charges meaning more time in the Kyln meaning more hell. I sit down on the bed and realize that it is now getting close to noon. "You guys going out for lunch?" I ask. "No, we figured we should order in since you're actually being discharged tomorrow morning. They were supposed to come and tell you all this but I guess they are running behind on discharge planning today." Peter says. I look at the blankets. It's Friday so I'll only be in holding for 2 days before they move me to the holding at the court house. My trial is only expected to be 2 or 3 days at the longest since they are just reviewing evidence and coming up with their sentence. I know I'll get something but with being in the hospital for almost a month total there is a chance I'll get some time suspended.

As we sit there waiting for lunch to be brought in I start to have this strange taste in my mouth. It tastes sweet like sugar but at the same time metallic like blood. I look around and everyone is looking at me strange. Peter is the first to react. "We need to get you to lay down now." is all he says as he pulls the pin under the head of the bed. I feel my entire body going still before I hear for someone calling for a nurse. I feel an electric feeling go through my entire body and then the cramping started. The pain was immense and I couldn't see anything other than stars and colors in my vision before that goes black and my ears start to ring.

"Rocket? Rocket? You still with us?" I hear a voice say near me. I still have the taste in my mouth but also with the flavor of blood. I can feel a pain in my lip and figure I bit it during what was going on. "Where am I?" I ask only to be muffled by a mask over my muzzle. I can smell rubber and plastic again and feel something pulling on my hand and chest. "Try not to move too much. You've been out for a long time. You gave us a scare." I hear someone say right next to me. I open my eyes and see that once again they have the mask on me. I go to sit up and feel 3 leads pull on me and can see that I have an IV again. "What happened?" I ask, pain evident in my voice. "We were about to have lunch when you went into a seizure." Gamora says from my left. "They had to do another IV and more medication. They thought you were going to need the breathing tube again." Peter says from my right. I sit back and look at the look I'm getting from Drax. "I'm fine you big lug." I say towards him with as much of a smile as the mask will let me. He simply looks up at me before looking at the floor. "It looked like you were going to rip in half." is all he said before getting up and walking out of the room. "I think he was scared by what happened. I was too. The doctor said they are going to reevaluate you but you aren't going to be discharged tomorrow." Gamora says before leaving the room to be with Drax.

"I'm going to be staying the night with you again since they wanted someone to watch over you." Peter says as he stands up and walks over to the hallway and looks out the door. "He'll be okay, get back in here." I hear Peter say to someone. I see Drax walk in the door with a forced smile on his face. "I can tell that's forced. I'm fine for now." I say to him. He walks closer and I hear a knock on the door. I look up and see 2 Corpsmen with Nova Prime walk into the room. "Well guys, been nice knowing you. See you in a couple years." I say as I put my hands up in front of me expecting to be handcuffed. "What are you doing? The charges were dropped based on mental defect from what you went through on Half World." Nova Prime says. I feel liquid starting to build under my eyes. I really didn't want to go back to the Kyln and it looks like I won't be. Once I recover from the last seizure I'll be back home on the Milano sharing a room with the blond Humie. I sit back and feel the sheet move directly against my skin.

"Where are my shorts?" I ask. Nova Prime turns and leaves the room while the others look around like they are trying to avoid the question. "You kinda ruined them during the seizure. I'm going to go get you another pair if you want." Peter says. "Nah, I don't think I'll need them. I had them turn the heat up a little last night while you were sleeping." I say with a smile.

The day goes on and everyone but Peter leaves when he looks at me with a smile. "Guess what I got for you while everyone was saying their goodbyes." he says to me. "If you're talking about that then you really have issues beyond your ship being splattered." I say, laughing. "No, this." he says as he takes out something wrapped in foil. The smell hits my nose full force and my mouth starts watering instantly. It's a Terran breakfast burrito. "They let you bring that in for me?" I ask as I rip through the wrapper and start devouring it. The eggs, sausage, everything just makes me eat like I haven't eaten before. I finish it in under 5 minutes. "Taste any of that?" Peter asks, laughing with his mouth full while he's still working on his. I lay back and feel a rumble in my stomach. "I heard that." Peter says. I open my mouth to say I felt it but am greeted by a loud belch. I can't help but laugh and he does the same. "You're acting more like your old self, that's a good thing to see." I hear from the door. I look up and see Gamora standing there. "I thought visiting hours are over." I say in surprise. "They are, but I brought something for Peter to wear to sleep in tonight as well as another pair of shorts for you." she says as she sets the bag on the end of the bed.

It's almost 4 in the morning when I wake up and realize that he had gone from the chair to next to me. "Pete, I need to go to the bathroom." I say to him as I push his arm off of me. He only grumbles something in his sleep before pulling the pillow into his chest and snoring more. I smile at the fact that he sleeps so hard that I could do just about anything to him that I wanted to and he would probably sleep through it. I walk into the bathroom and do my business. On my way out I can tell that he's not on the bed so I crawl up in and get under the covers. "Ah, nice and warm." I say to myself and close my eyes. A few minutes later I hear the door open then close. "Well, he's back." I say under my breath. "Yeah, I'm back." he says as I feel a weight get in bed next to me. Before long I'm pulled back into his chest and I can't help but laugh. "You know, I'm not some stuffed animal." I say. He only chuckles. "Yeah, I know. You're just too comforting." he says before yawning and falling asleep.


End file.
